Production and characterization of PLA based graphene, black carrot waste and huntite-hydromagnetite reinforced biocomposites

Abstract

In this study, biocomposite materials were produced by incorporating black carrot (KH), as a reinforcement material, graphene nanoplatelets (GNP) as additives, and huntite-hydromagnesite (HH) as mineral additives into a polylactic acid (PLA) matrix. A comprehensive investigation was conducted on the morphological, physical, mechanical, thermal, and flame retardant properties of the resulting biocomposites. The fabrication of the biocomposites was carried out through the implementation of a twin-screw extrusion method, subsequently followed by a process of hot press molding. Structural and morphological analysis were performed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) for characterization of the samples. Mechanical properties were evaluated by tensile, flexural, and impact strength tests. Thermal behavior was evaluated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and bending temperature under load (HDT) tests. The flame retardant performance of the samples was measured using the UL-94 V combustion test. The experimental findings revealed that the incorporation of KH and HH enhanced the degree of crystallization in all variations of PLA biocomposites. The incorporation of HH enhanced the degradation temperature of the matrix, concurrently augmenting its thermal atability and residual amount. In the PLA/GNP/KH biocomposite, the addition of KH led to a slight decrease in thermal strength, but it also slowed down the rate of mass loss and increased the residue rate. In the PLA/GNP/KH biocomposite, the addition of HH increased the thermal deformation temperature to 55.5 ºC, representing an improvement of 2.97% compared to pure PLA. The finding of this study indicate that the incorporation of KH and HH additives led to a substantial enhancement in the thermal performance of PLA-based biocomposites. © 2025, Gumushane University. All rights reserved.